Articles by David Metcalfe

“The horrors that (Mr. Clarke) witnessed in the dreary laboratory were to a certain extent salutary; he was conscious of being involved in an affair not altogether reputable, and for many years afterwards he clung…

When investigating the unknown, it’s best to leave obtuse hypotheses aside until all the evidence has been gathered. For many mysteries, this quest for truth can take centuries, for some even centuries…

Looks like Russell Targ was right on schedule with the publication of The Reality of ESP. Researchers from Northwestern University have conducted a meta-analysis of presentiment studies that is being featured in the current edition…

Our rich cultural history is one of the unfortunate victims of the pathetic cultural battle between Creationist and Neo-Atheist cliques. Were the founders of the United States hardline Christians? Secular humanists? Just typing these…

It’s an obvious question, but one not often asked, how does parapsychological research offend the evolutionist or materialist mindset? Certainly bold statements are made, but where is the real area of offense. One of the…

Often relegated to tabloid news coverage, the Afro-Caribbean religions, such as Santeria, Palo Mayombe, Palo Monte, and Vodoun, are some of the most beautiful and complex spiritual paths that can be found…

John Kruth, Executive Director of the Rhine Research Center, which has been at the forefront of laboratory research into anomalous perception since its founding in 1935, pointed out an interesting correlation between…

What if anomalous perception isn’t anomalous, what if it’s an underlying component of consciousness itself? Psi skeptics might be in for a surprise if Dr. Jim Carpenter’s research is correct. “There is…

William S. Burroughs loved his cats. The outlaw author known for his unabashed avant-sexual space operas and hyper-spatial exploratory prose wasn’t one to apologize for his utter disgust over a society he…

The media is a’buzz with the Office of the Dali Lama’s recent statements regarding organized religion. A FaceBook message posted on September 24th presented the following provocation for fundamentalist and arm chair devotees:

” The reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate.”

Nor was it ever so, and Buddhism has long held to this fact in its diverse applications of the simple monikor – If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

So let’s move past any undue shock over those statements and get straight to the UFOs. In 1992 John E. Mack, the noted Harvard Professor who specialized in abduction experiences, had the opportunity to meet with the Dali Lama and discuss his views on the UFO phenomenon. Central to this is Mack’s theory, similar to that of Jacques Vallee, that whatever is behind the UFO phenomena, and specifically abduction experiences, is central to changing our perceptions of reality and the progress of our culture.

It is interesting to hear Mack discuss the difference in how the Buddhist world view integrates these experiences, juxtaposed with how the ‘Western materialist’ mindset faces these anomalous encounters:

One of the things that surprised me most about attending the Parapsychological Association conference in Durham, North Carolina this year was how areas of science that receive the most criticism for being ‘pseudo-scientific’ are, in some cases, areas where the very basic elements, the most elegant elements, of the scientific method can be explored.

Dr. Robert Almeder, Georgia State University, wrote the introduction to Chris Carter’s new book Science and the Afterlife Experience, from Inner Traditions/Bear & Co., and he speaks here of the Dr. Ian Stevensen’s research at the Univ. of Virginia on cases in which the data seems to point to reincarnation as a plausible explanation. Rather than scoffing and dismissing this outright, Dr. Almeder presents a provocative argument for why such investigations fit very soundly within the scientific milieu.

Handling serpents at the Pentecostal Church of God. Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky., 09/15/1946 (Photographer: Russell Lee) American Evangelicalism is best know these days for its brash political pandering and social engineering attempts, but deep…

From Reality Sandwich An upcoming conference at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington Gore, London, titled “Gateways of the Mind” will feature a select coeterie of the world’s leading dream researchers. Setting…

Original link from Forteania, as pointed out by the Society for Psychical Research ‘Invisible Masters’ pop up in surprising places. Madame Blavatsky’s Theosophy movement, founded and maintained in part from communication with discarnate…

The official demise of Arthur Magazine, Jay Babcock’s carefully cultivated psychedelic culture journal, left many fretting their future prospects for an intriguing, in depth, and off-color window into the fractuous mindstream of contemporary culture….